Talks seen as a 'starting point'

As U.S. and other NATO troops are drawing down their numbers in Afghanistan, the Taliban insurgency continues to rage across wide areas of the country. The militants attempted a brazen attack on the national parliament last month.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that it hoped the talks "would be a starting point for the process so it could prevent the shedding of more innocent Afghans' blood and further destruction of the country."

The U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan ended last year, leaving the Afghan military to lead the fight against the Taliban. The thousands of NATO troops that remain in Afghanistan are there in a training and support role.

"The United States has been encouraging the Afghans to participate in an Afghan-led process that would bring about a political reconciliation in Afghanistan and a deescalation, if not an end, to the violence that has wracked that country for more than a decade now," Earnest said.

The head of the United Nations' political mission in Afghanistan also welcomed this week's talks.

"In the long term, peace is not a luxury, it is a necessity," said Nicholas Haysom, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for Afghanistan. "I welcome the direct face-to-face engagement by the parties as the only way to achieving progress towards a negotiated agreement and ultimately the peace that Afghanistan deserves."

Analysts have suggested that the Taliban may want to delay formal peace talks in anticipation of a stronger negotiating position down the line.

Previous contacts between Afghan government and Taliban representatives, notably in the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar, have failed to bear fruit.

CNN's Sophia Saifi reported from Islamabad, and Jethro Mullen wrote from Hong Kong. CNN's Masoud Popalzai and Marilia Brocchetto contributed to this report.